The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1887-11-05
BOOKS FROM ABROAD.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AMERICAN
AND FOREIGN DECORATIVE ART.
English, French and American Books
Side by Sidc-Whcrc tho French Excel.
English Conscrvatism-Gcrman Publi-
CaliuuS.EurlislI Xnrks in GlS4L

English Conscrvatism-Gcrman Publi-
catious.Englisl Works in Cloth,
| Tie foreign author is not without some pro.
lection against what are called the piracies of
American publishers Art and cheap labor
have combined to give him foothold in tho
american market, ami though it is only
slender lootholl, it is enough to make him
wish the ground broader and firmer. The
total nj the import trade in books, maps, ELL
cravings, ,tchings, and other printed matter
i'll th" 'nited States is considerable In tho
Year lssG ii amounted to over 81 30 900, and
this sl,m represents about the average value
I'll sui, importations for the past few years.
li'l' ii is the finished art and antiquity of
som" foreign works that give the chief dig
hltN to the import trade, and these are the
features also which bring large proportion
al the profits. We call ourselves great
manufacturing nation; and from the utili-
tartan point OF View tue claim is we'll founded
We are beginning 10 supply ourselves with
nearly all the coarse products of industrial
art of l'etter quality than can he obtained
| IN othcrcountries; buteScept in Il few special.
ties we are only entering upon the boun-
diaries of artistic decoration in ilr mechanical
arts, an,l are not skillful in presenting our
hoi NS III 'iiC hi'Sb uttlltlNt lOilll. .iIlpll-
can designs have been criticised for their an
| Glllarity. This is not necessarily serious re-
Election on their excellence.
No lcttcr illustration Of the difference he.
tween American and foreign decorative art
can be found than may Inc witnessed in n
book store where English, French and Amer
lean books can bo examined side by side
l.ineal design is hero out of the question.
one book is just as rectangular as another;
but there is wonderful difference to be OBJ
Served sometimes i'll the motive. Here is Il
French edition of Paul and Virginia found
at the lending importing house in New York
| AZ glance you see that the spirit which
| guided the hands of the bookmakers of the
medieval ages the monks, Still survives in
France, and ventures TO assert its superiority
over tho modern machine Everything about
| the book is suggestive of the most highly per-
fectrd art. The morocco upon the cover is
| dellcately tinted, tho ornamcntation is cX-
actly proportioned and ch;lstc, and, within,
the eye traces gallery of fine art, which he.
gins with tho first leaf and extends to the
last. One Of tho first pages of each volume
! is illuminated with q water color paintiuy
from the hands of an excellent artist, and
following through the volume founded on
situations in the story, are pictures printed
alternately upon silk and upon Japan paper
1t Is all fine nrt, and the letter press of the
volume is worthy of its company. This all
costs money, of course, and such books are
only within tho reach Of men whose Opuenco
is at least equal to their taste. The volumes
cost $500 each.
Here, too, are n couple Of volumes contain
ing the works of tho poet Rogers. issued in
1880 l,y nn English house. 1t is not like tho
/ nJ) IL
rived its chief merit from its association with
imaginative AIT, but 1T is simply Il specimen
Of tue first complete edition of the poets
works issued under his own eye, and repre-
sentative Of the best decorative art of tho
period. Within its limitations it is also a
work Of art, wrought out carefully by hand
in every detail, md bearing in each touch
tho impress of conscientious labor and good
taste. The most approved style of book
binding i'll England at present, it is said, calls
Tor gilt edged leaves ut the top of tho volume,
while at the si'le and bottom they ure left
plain. This has been thought Il recently
adopted fashion; but this edition Of Rogers
works proves that 1t is only II revival These
/ volumes nre ornnrncnted in this manner al
though printed more than fifty years ago;
! md it would not DO an cucroaclnl.nt on tho
| probabilities to presume that Rogers himself
whose artistic sense was known to be moro
delicate and truer than that of any of bis poet
contemporaries, might have been the author
Of the fashion. But the entire work in bind
ing, ornumentation. AMI letter press suggests
! that there has been little or no progress since
its publication in the art of booknaking, and
| the man who cares us well for his ten service
as his tea, and can afford the luxury, will do
well to nave his Rogers in this form 1t will
cost him only sl"5 to obtain tho two volumes.
! The Germans, us their art is illustrated in
. the United states, are better writers than
manufacturers OF books. They seem to caro-
little for the setting Of their literary gems,
and rarely use calf or morocco in the bind
ings. Their publications. as seen upon tho
shelves of our importing houses, are all bound
in cloth OF paper. They are distinctively
German, however, i'll their decorative feat
ares, displaying sonLer tints alternately
with bright aud varied colors, and are pro-
luced with more elaboration than the cloth
bound works Of nny other nation German
! importations run largely also to portfolios OF
engravings, something not strictly belonging
to the book trade, but classcd with books in
tnritf schedules, and made to pay correspond
ing duties On account Of the large German
population in the United States, ono would
expect to find the importation of German
works very large. 1t is, indeed, large, fol.
lowing next To the English importations in
the totnl anl coming not 81 very far III the
rear. But even here the American publisher
lis tic hcte noir Of al the importers Not
even in Germany will he allow popular
new work to escape capture, but, presto, on
its appearance, it is reproduced by his Ger
man printers in the original and offered 30
German reaiers in this country at prices
lower than they must pay for even cloth
bound copy of the same work produced in
the land of fabulous cheap labor.
Americans will always be struck by the
peculiarities Of English books bound in CLOTH
The leaves are rarely II ever cut, and the
backs are attached to the volume only ut the
corners i'll such 4 manner as to create the I'M
preston that the book is about to fall in
pieces. The case is not quite SO bad, however,
for the workmanship is pretty firm, and it is
quite possible that its fragile appearance Is q
source Of protection, the reader being likely
to handle with greater care all object that
seems SO perishable. This system Of binding
has also some less questionable advantages.
The leaves and covers are more flexible than
in American books and not always flying
slut the monant they are liberated from the
hand. a new English book taken from the
shell OK llh DOOhStduu Gull Ue ol'eueN oe any
page and made to lie flat, cover downward,
upon the counter without injury to the work.
We're yuu to attempt the feat with all Ameri-
can book you would break tho back. This
advantage, however, is not the explanation
offered for the English system of binding.
Euglshmon call a cloth bound book only a
covered book, while bound book is pre-
s,lInel 10 be mclosed in calf or morocco. A
man, therefore. who buys book in cloth
may b. supposed to select that material for
convenience i'll his first reading, and then IL
ltion for its place in the library. English
men are very skillful at giving reasons.-Neu
York Sun.
Retaining the Maiden Name.
1t is the fashion for the most ultra fash